Rockers Requiem
Created by Sech Molinari in October 2004, Rockers' Requiem is perhaps Second Life's oldest existing rock club. Sech is both owner and head DJ since its beginning. It is located in the old snow sim of Mieto. Clubs in 2004 were usually short-lived. Most of them started on a smallish plot and simply used a "radio stream" to gather some friends and attract some people for events, on those days that payments from traffic (called dwell those days) increased your weekly stipend. Quality was much less important back then — all you needed, on a mostly empty Events list, was to set up your event, and people would come... Like many things in Second Life, it's hard to keep people coming back to your place, specially if you target a "generalistic" audience — since so many radio streams are public, just picking one and expect people to come was fraught with deception. A few people started DJing on their own, but that worked as long as someone else started a new club next door. Thus, clubs tended to be short-lived —they disappeared after a few months. With the many changes in SL — no more L$ event support, getting rid of traffic, other events taking place the major role of clubs as hubs of entertainment — even the long-lasting, historical clubs in SL tended to disappear. Instead, a new range of "niche" clubs have taken over — targeted to a specific audience or type of music. Rockers' Requiem was, from the beginning, a club targeted to a niche: lovers of hard rock and all types of metal. There was not many offerings for rock lovers back in 2004 — the most notable exception being Brimstone's, long since disappeared — and thus Sech developed a new concept for a rockers' club in SL, based on the following premises: * Unique DJ style * A professional match of musical choices — from old successes, to new successes, to less known bands, even some live performances, and throwing in some music for comic relief * Constantly entertaining atmosphere — the role of the DJ is not to elicit the recurrent "woot" or "yay" and have everybody else conversing in IM. Instead, everybody was encouraged in participating in a very lively discussion — Sech knew all the members by name and what to ask them — which was often hilarious, and always entertaining * Events are "special occasions". Unlike 24h/7 clubs, Rockers' Requiem announces "private parties" (although they're really open to all to attend, of course). They're promoted through the group notices and the Event list. Every night is "special" — it can include a contest, a show of fireworks, presenting a new DJ, having a live performance, remembering the successes of a specific band, or tied to holidays (Halloween is a very popular one) or special days * The club included special nifty features — the Gallery of Gore on the first floor, Sech's own collection of hilarious pictures, movies on the walls, and even a very adult room for those who enjoy table dancing with some nasty twists :) There was even a pool table there for some time. * While the atmosphere is definitely mature, the club is always friendly enough for the ones just wanting to listen to good rock and not interested in anything more; people keep to IMs for private conversation, but in public, although teasing has always been encouraged, the club really focuses on good rock music over everything else. * Sech also encourages members to gather on RL meetups. In June of 2007, Sech passed the torch of Rockers Requiem ownership to U.S. rocker,Baz Eriksen. Baz continues in the groundwork that Sech laid down for 3 years, understanding the history and tradition that comes with the Requiem. Keeping the core of the club the same, Baz has shown that he was the proper fit for the Requiem by his off the wall events and improvments to the club itself. Some additions include: *Upgrades to "The Den". A place where rockers can hang out and chill in a relaxed environment inside the club. *"The Blood Lounge" was added for those residents with a touch of vampire in them. *"The Main Stage* for bigger bands to play, located on the 2nd floor. *"The Hall of Rejects" which is a spin on the original "Gallery of Gore", located on the new 3rd floor. An oddities museum for those 18+ to enjoy. Update as of Summer 2008: Due to RL circumstances, Rockers Requiem has closed it's doors. It lives on in the hearts of the thousands who passed through in it's long run in SL and with some luck will once again re-open to the world of Secondlife. Rockers Requiem has a web page at MySpace. Category:Bars, clubs, and lounges Historical Locations